ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author explores how the city reached out to the community and community reactions to the efforts. He focuses two high profiled cases at the time, he asks: to what extent do struggles against eminent domain address a broader grassroots climate advocating for city reinvestment for the Latina/o community? The institutionalization of disenfranchisement of the growing Latina/o community advanced, particularly through plans for eminent domain, and especially in the downtown area. In the early and mid-1980s, Santa Ana's government promoted a more democratic direction in community development than had characterized efforts in the 1970s. The city began to conduct community outreach activities to listen to and understand the community. The partners packaged Fiesta Marketplace with both private entrepreneurship interests and intentions to address the city's Latina/o community. The partnership also argued that Fiesta Marketplace combined personal economic development benefits the intention to structure options for economic benefits for the general business community who wished to join them.
